I'd Kill for You by Alan Plessinger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

List the characters and describe them. This book had an array of characters. Upon dissecting the story, I don't think (and other book club members agree with me) there was one too many characters. Although this added a little spice to the story, it does become confusing to the reader. So, I'll list my favourite set of characters and these were people at the detective agency - Adam, Charlie, Clyde, Gabe and Riley.

What was the mystery? At a glance, the story is about Lisa and her missing mother. But as you pay more attention to the details, the reader realises the story isn't about one mystery. It is about all the mysteries (missing persons) that the detective agency investigates. Hence, a lot of time and effort goes into describing these interactions and exploring their angles on the case their case.

What problems does one of the characters have? Lisa runs away to New York to find her mother. When she arrives, in the hope of seeking clarity, her mother is missing and there are more questions than answers. Lisa is a somewhat multi-dimensional character and the author does a wonderful job in making readers think she is the central part of the story.

Disclosure - I received a complimentary copy from the author which did not affect my honest opinion.

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Interview:

How did you come up with the title? “I’d Kill For You” is a fairly common, everyday phrase, and I like it as the title of a mystery novel because it says romance and murder both at once.  In fact it seems such a natural as the title of a mystery, I’m a little bit amazed no one else has grabbed it, but no one has.
What was the hardest part about writing this book? If you are asking money for your ware, everyone has the right to tell you precisely what they think of it, and to be brutally honest. And you have no right to object. Unless they’re your friends, of course. You can’t depend upon your friends to be honest critics, nor should you.
Did you learn anything from writing this book and what was it? How the process obsesses one. Writing is not an avocation one can leave at home. Ideas for additions or improvements present themselves at the most inconvenient times and places. Suppose that a cobbler couldn’t leave home and go ten feet in any direction without being accosted by shoes possessed of their own will and voice, making importunate demands to be mended or resoled. That’s something of what it’s like to be a writer.
How much of the book is realistic? There are varying levels of verisimilitude in mysteries. Private eye mysteries are realistic in that private eyes do exist, although they don’t usually investigate murders. Many private eye mysteries have some pretty unlikely things happening in them, and mine is no exception, but I like to think that nothing strictly impossible happens in “I’d Kill For You.”
What are your goals as a writer? Entertaining the reader is my main goal, but I always say, if you can’t manage to entertain your reader you should settle for trying to piss him off a little. Either way, he’ll remember you.
What books have most influenced your life? “Bleak House” by Dickens opened my eyes as to what is possible in a work of literature. It is the only book which has both made me laugh out loud and made me cry. Some books have done one or the other.  “Bleak House” is the only book that has done both.